iPad Plus Pencil A Perfect Pair

Thanks to last month’s news of Apple’s iPad refresh, I’ve been enjoying my own iPad renaissance. First, I decided to simply use iPad as — wait for it — a tablet. Crazy, I know. Next, I pushed it to become a quasi-desktop computer. Yes, yes. Good so far. Now it’s also becoming an art canvas. Oh, also a notebook.

That’s four items…these are not separate products; are you getting it? This is one device. It’s called iPad.

Okay, with that nod to versatility done, let me 'splain.

The huge unique feature about iPad when compared to my MacBook is the Apple Pencil capability. You can handwrite and draw. It’s gripping.

Handwriting

With my personal journal in Apple Notes, I’ve been using a hybrid approach for a few weeks now. I type on my keyboard. But I also handwrite with the Pencil. Yeah, my penmanship needs practice on the slippery glass surface, but I’ve already seen improvement. The Pencil Kit tool I do best with is Monoline. I use orange (#FF8000) ink, because of course I love it.

I’ve been rediscovering the special, intimate connection of physically pouring my thoughts through my hand onto the iPad’s display — a.k.a. handwriting. There’s scientific proof about the benefits of this tactile method.

I’ve got my eyes on buying Paperlike and a sleeve to upgrade the whole handwriting experience on iPad.

Drawing

I’m no artist. But I can doodle, sketch, and draw technical plans. But I’d LOVE to be able to draw some things better, and digital drawing makes art more accessible to a novice (and nerd) like me.

So far, I’ve only sketched with Apple’s Freeform app on iPad. It’s good. But after watching a few YouTube videos (like this one), I’m convinced to buy Procreate and start trying landscapes.

Summary

While iPad is fantastic for content consumption (tablet mode) and some heavier productivity tasks (desktop mode), I’m discovering it’s great for content creation (canvas mode) too. Though I think I’ll always do my professional CAD design on a Windows PC, all my personal stuff is simply and delightfully being done on iPad these days. And my MacBook is there for the rare tasks only it can perform.